Castle Notice
by degunther
Summary: A Castle - Burn Notice Crossover. On a book promotion tour, Castle visits Miami to look up Michael Westen to learn more about his father, and gets involved in a rescue mission. Meanwhile Kate goes undercover as a homeless person to learn who is waging war on the homeless population in NYC. The timeframe is post Watershed and they are still engaged.


**Chapter 1 [Departure and a Plan]**

**Eight Days ago on Castle Notice**

**[Sunday]**

It was early November and the dark gray, rain heavy clouds were making the City look a lot gloomier than it should. Castle was finishing his packing for his first extended trip to promote his new book. Kate looked on anxiously. When they had been just 'friends', his trips to promote his books hadn't bothered her. Now, looking around her at the Loft and the bed they shared she knew, this time, she would feel his absence. Other husbands go on business trips, why should Castle's be any different? I just got a bad feeling. " I'll be back around 6:15PM on next Monday," said Castle for at least the hundredth time. "You have my itinerary yes? I'll call or text you every day I promise."

"Is she going with you?"

Castle sighed looked at Kate and said, "Yes, Black Swan is picking up the tab and Gina is coming along to be sure she gets her money's worth. I would have told you sooner but I was afraid…."

"That I would remember the Hamptons when you spent the summer with her and came back almost remarried?"

"Yes, but right now only one woman has my heart and her name is Katherine Houghton Beckett. " Getting a box out of one of his drawers, "Here," he said taking a small gold heart on a fine gold chain with a small ruby inserted in the heart, "this is for you …my heart. I was going to give it to you right before I left, but now seems appropriate." Kate was speechless. For such a small piece it had a presence, it radiated …love. "Keep it for me please?" As Castle handed it toward Kate she ducked her head. Castle, taking the hint, spread the chain and looped it over her head. When Kate felt the thump of the heart on her chest she closed the gap and encased Castle in a ferocious hug quickly followed by a ferocious kiss.

"I'll see you off at the airport," she whispered.

"That won't be necessary but I would like the company. Are you going to use your badge to jump the security line again," teased Castle?

"You bet I am," smiled Kate.

Walking out of the bed room and toward the kitchen Kate said, "Put on some happy music and I'll make us some fresh coffee. Probably the last good cup of coffee you're going to get for a while, so enjoy it."

With the sounds of Andy Snitzer's Traveler CD beginning Castle sat down at the counter and pointed at the paper whose headline read 'Attacks on the homeless continue, Mayor promises action.' "You involved in that?"

"Not till they kill someone. I heard that some Commander is putting together a task force to study the problem."

"Study the problem? These people are being attacked. I think there is a pattern to the attacks."

Pouring her soul mate a cup of coffee, "What would you do?"

"First try to establish a temporal pattern. If I knew where they were going to strike I would set up an operation that I wrote about in one of my Derrick Storm books."

"I remember," said Kate," You would try to infiltrate a homeless person into the area."

"By doing reconnaissance as a police officer checking up on the homeless," continued Castle.

"You would look for a squat that was protected, but still had an escape route."

"I'd set up supply drops with a handler and timed visual check in points with the beat cops."

"Then be obnoxious to make yourself a target."

"Have back-up close by, but be able to defend yourself well until help arrived."

"Sounds good," said Kate, "but what are the unique problems here."

"The attacks occur between 1:00 AM and 3:00AM, which means the 'victim', must be alert."

"I'll need a safe haven during the day, Movie Theater perhaps, or have the Police or may a handler look over me."

"Wait a minute Kate are you thinking of going under cover for this are you? I forbid it!"

"Castle! You have right to forbid it. I am a police officer. It's my job to preserve and protect the people. I signed up for this when I took the badge. And you know that!"

"You're a Homicide Detective not an undercover. You have no experience or training to do this."

"It's in the job description. Someone's got to take these guys off of the street before I have to get involved. You saw the Mayor's response; we have to do something meaningful. If people are going to put themselves at risk it's best that we have a plan. This is a good plan. There is some risk sure, but I think every contingency is covered. Maybe I will get to present this maybe not. If I do I'm pretty sure there are plenty of undercover officers who will step."

A long silence followed with each looking into the eyes of the other.

"Kate, you're right, I'm…If I lost you I would go crazy, …, forgive me?"

Kate was shocked at the pure emotion in Castle's voice. No one had yelled or talked to her like since her Mom. Reaching out and grabbing Castle's hand," Sure. We are partners and partners look out for each other." Bringing his hand to her lips to kiss all anger gone now, "How would they be equipped?"

"While the daily supply drops would contain money for food and maybe some energy bars and maybe even water. They would need good warm and dry clothes with plenty of pockets to store things. The badge would be essential; it could get you out of a bad situation. Also an emergency beacon with GPS keyed to a police tactical frequency that will always be monitored by the closest station house while the agent is in play is essential. Pepper spray perhaps, and probably an ASP baton for when things get hairy. Also a couple of small CCD cameras placed to monitor the approach to the squat to capture the bad guys in the act."

"I would also suggest some tradecraft with the beat cops, a phrase that will always get you arrested. In a pinch this could get you the safe place you need to take a nap, get some decent food, etc. "

The rest of the time before the car arrived to take them to the airport was spent in refining the logistics and tradecraft of the plan. All in all thought Castle, it might work.

At the airport, Castle checked his bags and with Kate entered the TSA line. Kate hopped out as they approached the front of the line flashed her smile, badge, and gun and passed through the security checkpoint. Castle wasn't sure which was more effective the smile, badge, or gun, but she never failed.

When Castle cleared security he spotted Kate and Gina talking together, fearing the worst he approached, "….don't let him overdo it at the buffet, and see that he gets something besides coffee for lunch."

"Hey Castle," said Gina, "You ready for this?"

"Four cities in five nights, living out of a myriad of hotels for a week, what could be more fun?"  
"Price of fame you know. The reviews have been outstanding and the sales are still great. They love you in Florida, sales should spike back up."

"Timing it so we would be down there for the International Book Fair was a stroke of genius," added Castle.

"We got three pavilions. One for the new Nikki Heat book, one for the other Nikki Heat books, and the third is for Derrick Storm. We scavenged all the Derrick Storm we had left. You know we even had some first editions. With you around to autograph them they will go quickly. Our profits this quarter will be great."

At last call Rick finally let go of Kate stole a quick kiss and headed toward the door which leads to plane.

Four cities in five nights, and Gina already micromanaging, thought Kate, when Castle returns he is going to desperately in need of some TLC, his turn for a full body massage I think, and ice cream for after.

**Chapter 2 [Return and Reckoning]**

**Present day – the Monday after Next **

**[At the precinct – 5:00PM]**

Esposito and Ryan exchanged worried glances. For the last half hour they had watched Detective Beckett stare at a picture of Castle kissing another woman and furiously tap the cast on her left arm with a wooden pencil.

"We can't let them be alone,' said Ryan.

"I agree," said Esposito. "It would be a race to see who shoots who first. Beckett shooting Castle for the picture, or Castle shooting Beckett, then going for Gates for letting Kate go undercover and getting hurt."

"I'm sure there is an explanation for the picture."

"And Kate was just doing her duty. They need a chance to talk before they kill each other."

"What are we going to do?"

"We'll pull a Castle. We'll hijack the situation. Come on."

"When you leaving to pick him up," asked Esposito?

"Soon," replied Kate.

"Want us to come along," asked Ryan?

"No, I can handle him."

"I was thinking more like protective custody."

With that Kate looked up at her two long time squad mates and friends, "Ok guys what's up?"

"Kate," said Esposito, "Your pissed at Castle because of this," pointing to the picture," and he is going to be pissed that you went undercover and got hurt. Spare me I was just doing my duty speech. Castle won't buy it and you know it."

"There is probably a perfectly good explanation for the picture, and you're going to need backup when you talk to Castle about the  
undercover job. We want you both alive so that you can listen to it other.. So here is what we are going to do. I'm going to call Jenny, Javier will call Lanie and they will meet us the Olde Haunt. You will call Tom and reserve our table, leave here in approximately ten minutes and meet u s there. We will go pick up Castle. He will answer the photo question, and you will reassure him that the undercover assignment was necessary and that you are alright. This isn't a negotiation."

Esposito and Ryan approached Rick at the baggage carousel, "Hey," said Castle," I was hoping for Kate," suddenly serious, "is she alright?"

"She's fine bro," said Esposito handing Castle the paper with the picture, "but you might not be."

Castle looked stunned when he saw the picture. After reading the article Castle sighed and said, "At least I have a good explanation for this. How pissed is she?"

"I could not tell," said Ryan.

Castle swallowed hard, looked from Ryan to Esposito and back and said "Crap, I'm a dead man."

"That's why we are all going to the Olde Haunt. At least you get a good drink before she kills you."

The drive to the Olde Haunt was conducted in silence. The Boys worried about the friends, and Castle just worried.

When he saw Lanie and Jenny at the table with Kate he knew that there would be at least two witnesses to his death, of course they might not testify, but when he saw the cast on Kate's broken left arm he was furious with Ryan and Esposito. His anger let Kate get in the first punch. "Castle," in a tone that could have frozen Jell-O, "who is that and why are you kissing her?"

"Her name is Fiona Glenanne she is Michael Westen's girlfriend. The kiss was a tactical necessity, a distraction, so we could save the kidnapped women. She is a IRA trained explosives expert with plenty of field experience against the British, an Expert shot with a number of handguns, rifles, and assault rifles, and one heck of a ballroom dancer. She is wanted by the Irish, British, and Interpol, but not surprisingly by the US. I'm not saying another word until someone tells me how you got hurt."

"You were part of the mystery team that freed the kidnapped woman and turned the kidnappers over to the Miami police, "said Esposito in a strangely awed voice?

"Yes, but not another word!"

"Castle did you see yesterdays paper," asked Ryan?

"No, something interesting besides this," pointing to the picture?

All the people at the table looked at each other. Then it hit them. Castle had been in Miami and the story about a mysterious team that had miraculously discovered a kidnapping/slavery ring and saved the women had made the front page even here in NYC and Castle had just casually claimed to have taken part in the operation. This was going to be an interesting night.

Kate felt the heat, the anger, and the truth in Castle's words. She should have known better. Evidence is one thing and the heart is something else, and when Castle acts it's all heart. With a light hearted sigh she grabbed Castle's hand. "I am still going to have to check on your alibi, but it looks like you're off the hook." With a hint of a smile on Castle's face she continued, "Well as to how I got this…"

**Chapter 3 [Kate's Story]**

Esposito began, "when I got to work on Monday morning I saw Kate writing on the murder board a thought we had a case and was upset that no one had called me."

"I had drawn out the sectors as was putting in the attacks in chorological order,' continued Kate. "You were right Castle they did have a pattern. Esposito noticed there were two types of attacks confusing the issue. One type was a bunch of heavy hitters dealing real damage, and a bunch of light weights that were just trying to intimidate the folks."

"We concentrated on the heavy weights," said Ryan. "We thought they were the most dangerous, and probably the originals, the light weights we ignored for the moment."

"We ended up drawing two attack distribution models," said Kate.

"Nice - attack distribution models," said Castle, "I have to use that. Sorry."

"For the heavy weights, what confused us for a while was we saw four clusters. At first we thought we had four groups, but that did not make any sense. With four groups we would expect a lot more attacks. Then Esposito keyed in on the time of the attacks."

"All of the attacks were reported as happening very early in the morning," said Esposito. "That could mean anytime between 1:30 – 6:00 AM. Most of the homeless do not have a watch so they couldn't really provide a time. I suggested what if the attacks occurred between 1:30 and 2:30 AM."

"Last call," said Castle nodding in agreement.

"Yes," continued Esposito. "Our working theory became that the attackers were four men. Every weekend they went to a different bar, probably the favorite of each man in the group."

"Using Liquor Licenses and disturbance complaints we came up with a likely bar in the center of each of the heavy weight clumps," said Ryan.

"What about the light weights," asked Castle?"

"They were all in one group," said Kate. "As it turned out they were a bunch of shop owners who were emboldened by the heavy weights and tried to intimidate the homeless in their area. Commander Morrison took of those guys, but I jump ahead."

"Next on the other half of the murder board I started outlining the plan we talked about in the Loft Castle. When we completed I must have jumped two feet forward when I heard Captain Gates say 'Good job Detectives. Leave the material on the board. I'll call Commander Morrison. You can explain your findings and talk him through the plan.'"

"For the next hour I was hoping we would catch a case. This was a fun exercise, but to be involved in a Major directed Task Force is way too much politics for me," confided Esposito.

"It turned out great didn't it," said Ryan.

"You know," said Castle, "what the reward is for a job well done?"

"The next crappie job," they all chorused together.

"After lunch Commander Morrison and his staff trouped in," started Kate.

"Trouped in is right, eight staffers, eight. What do they think this is 'The Lord of the Rings'," interjected Esposito, "Sorry."

"We explained our clumps and our theory that the four heavy weights after a night drinking get worked up and decide to go out and knock some sense into the homeless heads. We pointed out that if they stuck to their pattern they would strike in either one of these two clump areas. We also said that the best way to stop them would be to place an undercover cop in each of the areas to catch them in the act."

"Then for the next hour or so we listened to them debate the merits of going to the bar, identifying them my their talk, and trying to talk them out of it vs. trying to catch them In the act," said Esposito, " I had to coffee up three times."

"Next we had to go over the plan point by point with the Commander and his staff. You know:

We approach this as if we were inserting a foreign agent into a hostile environment.

Our goal is to infiltrate an undercover cop into the danger area disguised as a homeless person.

We could do reconnaissance by posing as our selves going in and checking up on the homeless in the area. We could also tell them that we expect an event in this area over the weekend and that they should relocate. This would serve two purposes, remove them from harm, and increase the likelihood that the undercover would be attacked.

Our reconnaissance activities would enable us to locate a Squat in the area that is protected, but still have a viable escape path.

We would also look for obvious supply drop points to be used by the handler or the beat cops.

Operationally we would let the station house in whose area we are operating in know the location of the Squat so that they could look in on us. Also we would establish timed visual check points for either the handler or the beat cops to use to check on use and finally we would establish a phrase that would always get us arrested and back into safety.

Since the attacks occur on Friday or Saturday nights the uniforms would arrest the undercover cops on Sunday morning, thus preserving their cover if the operation needs to be repeated."

"We spent the next hour or so debating every point. Captain Gates got so angry that she jumped in saying the time visual check points were essential to the safety of the personnel in the field, and the supply drop points just made too much sense not to do," said Ryan.

"We finally agreed that the drop points would contain petty cash, some food bars, a larger bottle of water, and batteries."

"Why batteries," asked Castle?

"The CCD cameras."

"Oh, right."

"By the way Castle, what did you say to Captain Gates? She said that she hasn't been yelled at like that in a long time," said Kate?

"Later"

"Equipment," said Kate shaking her head, "next we talked about equipment."

"Badge check, No gun – check, GPS enhanced emergency beacon on a dedicated monitored frequency absolutely, CCD cameras to record the assault – check, pepper spray – check. They drew the line at the ASP batons."

"Why?"

An exasperated Esposito threw his hands into the air, "Politics!"

"What did you do," asked Castle?

"We bought our own. Castle I bought you one. You are going to learn how to use it. I am no longer going to have an unarmed partner. Got it!"

"Yes ma'am. What happened next?"

Kate, Esposito, and Ryan all exchanged looks. Kate seeming to focus on her beer glass said, "The Commander thanked us for our insights, informed us that undercover had no one to spare at the moment and asked if we would volunteer to execute the mission."

"He did what," shouted Castle loud enough to be heard in the back half of the Haunt."That SOB should be shot!"

Kate watched as Castle reached for his glass, finding it empty scooted back away from the table and headed for the bar. She watched as Castle drain the glass right after Tom had filled it and ask for another. Remind me to keep the Commander far away from Castle. If they do meet, I need to be on Castle's arm so that he doesn't slug him.

"Why didn't he ask his is staff?"

"You know Bro, suits," said Esposito.

"I take it you volunteered?"

"Kate and I for undercover, Kevin as the Handler."

Looking at Jenny and nodding, "Understandable. You got drafted."

"When the Commander said he was going to assign one of his staff for tactical control, Captain Gates went ballistic," said Kate. "The Commander said that this was his Task Force. The Captain said we were her people and she would go to the Chief of Detectives if she needed to. The Commander reminded her that the Mayor himself picked him to head the task force."

"What Kate said next was priceless," laughed Ryan.

With all eyes on her Kate she smiled and said, "I told the Commander to say Hi to Bob for me. And to remind him he still owes me 45 bucks. I further explained how he, his aid Judge Finley and Captain Henry join you for a Poker Night the first Thursday of every month and when one of them is missing I sometimes sit in. Until I started kicking you guys asses."

"You didn't."

"She was protecting us; we needed to cover her back," said Kate in a tone that allowed no argument, "We broke up about 6:15. We decided to take a little nighttime tour of the two cluster target areas. We saw very little activity. "

"Not surprising, they are survivors. They know something was wrong and they got out of the way."

"Tuesday was a busy day," said Kate. "We surveyed the territory, figured out where our squats would be, and set supply drop points and times with Kevin."

"We talked to some of the homeless still remaining their and advised them to move on. They really did not need much urging. We marked the points we could be at for the visual checkpoints," said Esposito.

"We also bought our batons and our outfits, Field Jacket over a flannel shirt over thermal underwear, cargo pants and good boots and socks. A little bulky, but we could move ok and plenty of room for our stuff," added Kate. "The LT secured our other stuff from Tech Services, and made sure that it worked." "That afternoon we met with Capt Gray, his LT from the 27th, the area we would be operating in and Detective Kowalski, our liaison from the 12th. No one from the Task Force bothered to show told them of our findings about the bars, and where our squats would be."

"The LT told us that we could expect a response time of around 3:45. Friday's are always a problem especially that time of night, but he would personally brief dispatch as to the situation," added Esposito. "They liked the idea of the visual checkpoints and the arrest me now code phrase. The LT promised to have a list of times that patrols would be by those points by the time they walked in tomorrow."

"Capt Gray," continued Kate was not happy with the response time, "he said he would assign a detective to go each of the bars on Friday and Saturdays, listen in on the conversation and follow any suspicions groups. Having an armed officer present when the attack starts or arriving right after it starts might save our asses."

"A trigger point cover," said Castle."I didn't think of that. Nice"

"We went back to the 12th, put on our disguises and had our pictures made for distribution to the Uniforms in the 27th then headed home."

Lanie noticed that the more Kate and Esposito talked about the preparations the angrier Castle looked. When he let go of Kate's hand she was concerned.

"We I called you Tuesday night you didn't say anything about this," said Castle in a tone that was part pain part anger.

"I know," said Kate failing to met Castle's eyes.

Hon, you didn't tell him. He's going to be furious, when Castle reached for his glass instead of responding, or drunk, thought Lanie, perhaps i should ask you to stay with me tonight. Bad idea, Kate needs to work this out now. Later will just make things worse.

Finishing his drink Castle motioned for the story to continue.

Seeing the distraught look on Kate's face Esposito wades in."For me Wednesday was terrifying, exhilarating and a blur," with Kate nodding her head in agreement, he continues. "I walked in set up my squat, and walked around getting the lay of the land. Bro I really appreciated the cookies at the first supply point."

"Wait, you got cookies! All I got was carrot sticks," said Kate.

"The visual checkpoints are a get idea Kate, a confidence builder, and a remainder that I wasn't all alone out here."

"Castle's idea actually," said Kate.

"Whoever added the micro recorders to the equipment list deserves a gold star. As a homeless I was invisible. I saw and recorded drug deals go down, merchandise being flipped on delivery trucks, and the outright sale of stolen property."

Nodding enthusiastically, "Mine," Ryan confessed, "I thought as long as you are out there you might as well grab some street intelligence. Captain Gray was very appreciative. I think he moved on some of the operations today, and will move on some tomorrow."

"Wednesday Night I could not get to sleep, nerves I guess, I'm glad we came early to develop a routine. Thursday was the same. The only difference was that on Friday I went into the Chinese Theater on 2oth and took a nap. I was hoping for action Friday night. When I got 'arrested' on Saturday morning I was relieved and disappointed."

"My story is the same except Friday I slept in the sun in the park with Kevin and Detective Kowalski watching my back as they pretended to play chess, and my Friday night was different. "

Before Kate could continue Ryan jumped in," Captain Gates, Detective Kowalski, and I were with the 27th LT waiting for the two detectives that Captain Gray had sent out to check in and monitoring your emergency beacons. About ten minutes till one we got a call from the detective in the bar in your cluster Kate, he said he two groups of possible and he was following one now. A couple of minutes later we got a panic call back saying it was the wrong group and he was heading back toward the bar. That's when we got your beacon. "

Taking a deep breath Kate started," When I heard them coming down the alley I started the recorder, and stood up. It looked like they all had aluminum baseball bats. When the leader of the group said 'Well, well here is another one we need to teach I lesson to, a permanent one' 'I activated the beacon and identified myself as a NYCPD Detective and told them that they really didn't want to do this.'"

Nodding to Esposito she continued, " I moved to the center of the alley and readied the baton. When the first guy rushed I was able to beat down the bat and hit him upside the head with the baton. He went down. The other three became a lot more cautious. They spread out as to surround me. I feinted at the guy to my left, pivoted and blocked the blow coming from the leader who had assumed the center position, continued the pivot and speared the guy on the right he went down. He did manage to hit me on by calf forcing me to spin away again. Now I found myself trapped between the two of them.

We danced for a bit and I decided I needed to gamble. I rushed the leader driving him back a couple of steps. I turned around, ducked under the swing from the second guy, nailed him in the ribs and his shoulder came down I struck and broke his collar bone. When I span back it was too late. I had to bring my left arm up to protect my head. He hit it and broke it. From then on I was on the defensive trying to buy time. The sirens must have startled him because I was able hit him on the inside of the arm holding the bat making him drop it, step in and leg reap him and when he was down I thumped him in the chest. That's when I saw the lights and heard Captain Gates yelling."

Capturing Kate's hand in his Castle asked, "Kate you ok?"

"Now"

"We moved toward the cars when the Detective first called in," said Ryan. "When your beacon popped we were rolling."

They are going to be ok, thought Lanie. Castle explained the photo and Castle knows Kate is ok. Castle's story though had better be good.

"What happened next," said Castle.

"You should have seen Beckett in the box with the leader," said Ryan. "It was classic. We had to run them and Kate through the ER first then we brought them to the 12th. When Kate first went in the box the leader claimed 'he and his friends were just having a little fun and did not mean any harm, and beside who would believe the testimony of an old homeless hag even if you could find her for the trial. 'When Kate rolled down the sleeve of her sweat shirt to expose the cast his eyes popped out. When the video and the recording had been played he was shaking. When Kate said, 'that homeless hag was me. You are charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder of a NYPD Detective. I will make the trial date and I will see you rot in jail. Sign the confession now. It will save you the embarrassment of having it come out in court that the four of you got asses handed to you by a single homeless hag. They all signed."

"As I said before, when I got 'arrested' on Saturday morning I was relieved and disappointed. The Officers told me that the four guys looked like they ran into a hit squad," said Esposito. "I told them that the bad guys had run into a Huntress by the name of Kate Beckett. She protects the flock by hunting and killing wolves. They seemed to like that."

**[Chapter 4 Ricks Story]**

Still hanging on to Kate's hand and looking directly into her eyes, Castle said. "Before I tell you how I spent my week, let's refresh the pitchers and get some more of the mineral water. How about another tray of snacks? "After walking to the bar and getting Tom's attention, placing the orders, carrying over pitchers of beer and bottles of mineral water Castle returns to the table, sits down pours himself a glass of mineral water and begins.

"My week started going downhill right after I left Kate at the gate in LaGuardia. The plane was delayed for an hour or so due to weather in Florida. During that time I had Gina tell what sections I should read in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami. Normally I let the audience choice or I go with some of my favorites. "

"Jacksonville was a blur; we got in at 10:57PM. The book signing was a lunch time affair 11:00 to 1:00 PM, a quick bite to eat then on to the reading from 6:00 till 8:00 PM. Then we caught the 9:15 to Orlando."

"In Orlando the pacing was better, a lunch time book signing and evening book release party on Tuesday and a lunch time book signing on Wednesday. Then we took an afternoon flight to Tampa. I seem to remember book release parties as being a lot more fun and something to look forward to. I mean the young ladies would hand me a sharpie and lean forward and I would… Now I feel compelled to sign just the book."

Seeing Kate smile Castle continued. "Thursday in Tampa was a rinse and repeat of Monday in Jacksonville. All this time Gina is being Gina and being sure the schedule is being meet. She needs to take a clue from the fans once in a while."

"When did you call Gates Castle," asked Kate.

"When you didn't pick up on Wednesday I thought you had a case, by Thursday afternoon I was concerned. I had tried you, Esposito, and Ryan and no one was talking. Finally I called LT. He told me that you had accepted an undercover assignment. I lost it and called Captain Gates. I told her that Kate hasn't been trained as an undercover cop and she had no right detailing you with that assignment. She give me the standard line about it being your job. I responded that this assignment went beyond the bounds of what duty normally calls for. She told me that the plan was excellent. I told her I helped write the bloody thing, and the major weak point is that Kate would have to fight multiple people who really wanted to harm her alone. By the time the response team got there it would be over."

"I also asked if see would like to fell firsthand what that means. She asked if I was threatening her. I told her I was just willing to provide her with an educational experience to broaden her horizons. ….When I started to apologize she said she knew I was angry and concerned. She could respect and forgive that. She told me that Esposito had also been drafted; that she was concerned to and was doing everything she could to protect you guys. I groveled some more and hung up."

"Now we get to the good part, Miami. My schedule here was light. A book signing Friday afternoon, a Charity Auction Saturday night, and a noon time appearance at the International Book Fair on Sunday. The schedule gave a lot of time to look up a man named Michael Westen. My CIA contact said he is burned spy, but burned on very mysterious circumstances. He worked primarily the Soviet Union and Soviet bloc countries and could provide a considerable about of background for any new stories I might write about that area."

Kate's attention perked up when the CIA contact was mentioned. She was aware that Castle was constantly doing research on a number of subjects simultaneously, and taking a side trip to talk to someone first hand is something he has done in the past. His general knowledge was vast and that is one of the things that made him such an asset on the team. He's stretching the truth her a little. He's trying to find out more about his Dad thought Kate! When he met her gaze and gave her the almost imperceptible nod to confirm her suspicion she sighed. It looks like I'll get to hear some other stories.

"During the morning I called Mrs. Westen, Madeline, and made an appointment to come over and talk to her about Michael. At the book signing Gina was thrilled. The book store sold out its entire stock of Nikki Heat books. Not just the new book, everything."

"While I was at Mrs. Westen's, Madeline's, I explained that I knew Mike was a burnt spy and a contact of mine at the CIA thought that Mike and my Dad had crossed paths on several occasions and all I wanted to know is if Mike had any stories he could tell me about my Dad, when one of her 'Canasta crowd' and her two grown adult children burst in."

"Wow, Bro your Dads a spy," asked Ryan.

"No, that's the story I told her. When I saw all of the family pictures around the place I just thought a family based approach would work. It did."

"The older woman was upset. She said her two grand children had been kidnapped and could Michael help find them. Madeline said of course and proceeded to call Mike."

"After Mike and 'his team' arrived the son had explained that he and his family were down for his daughter Laura's wedding on Sunday. Yesterday she and her little sister, who is sixteen, went shopping and did not return. The police told them they would have to wait another 24 hours before they could file a missing persons report. He said his mother thought Mike could help."

"Fiona made a comment, that these are the first young women that had gone missing lately."

Laughing, Castle continued. "Madeline said that Mike would love too help. Next came the normally asked questions, when did they leave, where did they go, boyfriends name, where is he, access to her apartment, and so on. When the family left I offered to help."

"They declined of course. I told them that I had followed a team of NYC Homicide Detectives around for the last five years I knew a bit about how to do investigations. I suggested that we approach the investigation from two directions; one is try to recreate the last twenty four hours to determine where they were snatched, and perhaps who. The other approach would be to try to find out who traffics in women for export. I might be able to help there and besides I could outshoot them all."

"That brought the house down. Sam Axe said he was a Navy Seal. I said so, you haven't seen me shoot."

"Let me tell you about Mike's Team. Mike Westen is a burned spy. He is reputed to be one of the best. He worked the Soviet Union and Soviet Bloc countries. Rumor has it he is still on the Soviet's most wanted list, despite having been out of the business for six years. "

"Sam Axe is an ex-Navy Seal. A lady's man. Good physical and field skills. A fast thinker and a great con artist, just the type of guy you would want on your team even though he sometimes has a problem with the bottle."

"I've already described Fiona Glenanne. She is an IRA trained bomber who thinks explosions are a work of art, herself and artist, and for whom violence is foreplay. She is most definitely Mike's girl."

"Jesse Porter is another burnt spy. He has the reputation of being good with electronics and being an excellent analyst."

"Then there is the den mother, Madeline Westen. A cagier, more street-wise loving protective woman does not exist. She will do anything for her family."

"Well my comments about being able to outshoot everyone pissed everyone off but bought me the time to be taken seriously."

"Jesse said my approach made sense, he could put some feelers out while they were backtracking the daughters and asked how I could help. I told them that Tony Costadillo owed me a favor. He should know everything that is going on down here and I would ask him if he knows anything."

"We I said Tony's name the house grew quite. When I asked what was wrong Mike said he doesn't like be very much. We settled on a plan Mike would come with me to Tony's and the rest of the team would try to backtrack the sisters. "

"We were ushered into met Tony with no problem. When I went to introduce Mick he said 'Michael Westen please tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now. I saw two of Tony's guys had drawn their weapons and were pointing them in our direction. Two reasons Tony, I said, he is here with me, since I am your honored guest it would be a breach of etiquette to kill him and two I need his help to rescue some kidnapped women. "

"Castle," Tony said," you are brave, polite, and sometimes stupid, but in this you are correct. With a gesture to his boys to holster their weapons." Now what's this about kidnapped women?"

"After we finished our story he said. The guy you want is Sergei Lukin. He kidnaps women from all over the state, ferries them out to his yacht in international waters, and auctions them off to whomever. He does this a couple of times a year."

"When I asked why he hasn't been stopped, Tony shrugged and said he is protected, and if we could take him down there would be no blowback, perhaps a favor owed and certain debts cancelled looking directly at Mike. Tony called in one of his lieutenants to give us information on Lukin's main residence. "

"When we got back to Mike's loft and met up with the rest of the team, Jesse said that they had been able to use the elder sister's credit card activity to track their movements to a local mall. When they found her car they saw it was in the field of view of a security camera. Sam was able to convince the security guard to let them view the tape. They got lucky. The video showed them being hustled into a van and they got a partial license tag. Fiona, using Madeline's friend in the DMV was able to determine that the vehicle belonged to one of Lukin's companies."

"The name Lukin was familiar," continued Castle. "I called Gina and sure enough he was going to be at the Charity Auction. When Gina said that there were no more tickets left I told her that they would have to make room for one more guest because she would be on my arm, and by the way who was catering?"

"From here we drafted a plan. Fiona and I would go in and some way or manner distract Sergei. Jesse would infiltrate disguised as a waiter and attempt to drug him. When we had successfully drugged him Fiona would call Mike and Sam. Sam's lady friend just happened to have an ambulance that we could borrow. They would be here in less than three minutes. Fiona would then call 911 using someone else's name. On the way to the hospital Mike would administer a truth drug, getting the location of the house holding the daughters. We would raid the house, free the daughters. Then raid Sergei Lukin's place, trying to find any incriminating evidence and give it to the police. Then fade home before dawn."

"When none of my compatriots blinked when they put this together I thought either their crazy or I am. As I was on my way out Fiona stopped me in my tracks by saying 'Where you going Buster? You have a challenge to prove."

"We got to old abandoned factory site which they had obviously used before. Fiona opened the truck and unrolled a blanket of hand guns. Each gun was in its own hostler held in place by Velcro. She had a Glock 17, Glock 19, Herstal FNP-9, Beretta 92, Walther P99, Smith & Wesson Magnum, M1911, Mark 23, SIGP250, Colt 1911-22 pistol and a Desert Eagle. Pick your poison she said."

"I picked the M1911, stripped it, checked the action, and put it back together. In response to her raised eyebrows I told her that unless the tactical situation demands it I never fire I weapon I haven't checked personally. While I had checked the weapon Sam Axe had placed the target about 25 yards away."

"I fired the whole clip. I must say it was one of my best efforts. Everything center black nothing touching the line. When Sam Axe saw the target he was speechless. "

"I didn't know you could shoot Castle," said Esposito.

"He does," said Kate, "He does it well with both hands."

"Next they wanted me to try with the assault rifles. Esposito she had a FN SCAR prototype!"

"No way those aren't in production. Who is this girl?"

"She is someone dangerous and with connections. I chose the Heckler & Koch HK467. I shot five times at a target about 125 yards away. All the shots were high on the center and 1st ring boarder. When I looked at Fiona she confessed that those weren't standard rounds."

"Sam Axe looked at both targets and pronounced it serious good but these things don't shoot back.. I told them that I follow a Homicide squad around. I go where they go, and I go unarmed. He said I was either following a good looking woman or I was crazy in either case welcome. "

"At this point my only task was telling Fiona when I would pick her up."

"When I got back to the hotel the only messages that I had were from Gina. She had scheduled another 11:00-1:00 book signing and asked if could I spend some time at the International Book Fair on Saturday. Friday night I couldn't sleep my mind was running in circles, could we find and save the girls and was Kate ok."

"Saturday dawned with no word from the 12th…"

"Castle I'm sorry," said Kate. "Saturday I was elated that we caught the bad guys and worn out. I alternated from taking baths to sleeping to an occasional snack. I'm ashamed that I didn't even think that you would be worried. I'm sorry."

Castle nodded and continued. "The book signing and the International Book Fair helped keep my mind off of the night's events and what might be happening back home. I picked Fiona up around seven and we proceeded to the ballroom at the Four Seasons Miami for the Charity Auction. We made it through ok and spotted Jesse hovering near our mark. "

"When I started to walk over to our target and try to distract him with conversation Fiona grabbed me and said 'Follow my lead'. We danced our way across the ballroom and when the song ended we were right in front of Sergei and Fiona kissed me. It was a kiss worth of the name, but it was only a distraction. Nothing more."

"After the kiss Fiona said, 'Jesse was successful. Walk me toward the windows. I need to be able to call Mike. Castle she said,' kisses are the best distractions because everyone watches them, some with hatred, some with joy, some with envy. It doesn't matter, they watch.'"

Kate thought back to their first real kiss, so long ago it seems, where they kissed so that they could distract and take out the guard and go in save the Boys. It distracted the guard and captured my heart she remarked to herself. Looking into his eyes she didn't see joy, or deceit, only pain. Pain? Oh, I made him think that he hurt me." I forgive you," she heard herself say as she stretched up to kiss Castle.

"Enough already," laughed Lanie. "I want to hear the rest of the story."

After reluctantly disengaging from Kate and taking a long drink of water Castle continued. "The drug Jesse gave Sergei worked quickly. Jesse was first on the scene and was soon chased away by some of the Doctors in attendance. Fiona made her calla to Mike and 911. Mike and Sam collected the target and were on their way. A few minutes later the party returned to normal."

"I was making my normal party rounds when Fiona said 'Let's dance.' As we danced she said 'Outside North exit three minutes'. She stopped next to the open beverage table, threw a glass of water in my face calling me a pig, slapped me, and then left the ballroom. "

"She slapped you Bro," laughed Esposito. "That didn't make the papers."

"You know sometimes I want to slap him myself, said Kate smiling at Castle.

After sending a mock glaring at Kate and finishing his glass of water Castle continued, "When I finally caught up with Fiona she changed out of her basic black dress and into your basic black. She hit me in the chest with a bag and said change as we go. Mike and Sam have a location. Jesse is already on his way to scout. As I was dressing she said 'Castle, a slap is just another distract, just not as pleasant. They will remember you being slapped and me leaving. When you don't show back up, they will consider that good manners. No one will ever associate us leaving together."

"I would," said Kate. "In a heartbeat, It's a flimsy alibi, plausible, but flimsy."

"When we got to the site we parked behind Jesses vehicle, geared up and waited for Jesse to return from his scouting mission and for Mike and Sam to arrive."

"When we are together, Jesse briefed the situation. He pointed out the suspected field of view of the cameras at the house. He also pointed out a route that we could take that would get us next to the house that would get us beneath the cameras field of view. He suggested that we deploy into two teams, one hitting the backdoor and the other the front, and once we started to move on the door we would be seen and speed was our only friend. From the information we had gotten from Tony we thought we were facing five guys, probably working a three on during the day and two on at night rotation. A normal setup would have the camera monitors in the kitchen by the backdoor and the other guard would be in the living room probably with the TV on."

"Mike said that we want to be non-lethal, especially since we don't know where the hostages are but don't be afraid to shoot to kill if we need to. He asked me to act like Alexis was in there. I told him No. If Alexis was in there I would only need the silenced M1911, not the Tasers."

The truth in Castle's words sobered the people around the table. Even his friends knew, when family is involved, Castel would be a deadly enemy.

"The next was just a blur; I followed Jesse and Fiona through the kitchen. While they took the guy down in hand to hand I positioned myself at the beginning of the hall and managed to Taser two of the guards before Mike and Sam flowed past me to secure the remaining rooms."

"We brought all of the girls into the living room. They were frightened as expected. When Mike took off his sky mask we all did likewise. 'Look he said we are here to rescue you, handing a cell phone to Laura he said call your boyfriend have him met us at the Sarasota Plaza off of highway 12, we will take you there to wait for him. Then we have something else to do. Have him take you all to the police. Tell your story; we would appreciate it if you don't describe us."

"About twenty minutes Laura's boyfriend shows up. As the girls we getting ready to leave, one of them turned around and said 'don't worry Mr. Castle, we won't describe you. You saved our lives, you saved us from….We will tell the police that five men', looking at Fiona, 'rescued us. They wore ski masks and gloves at all times. Their English wasn't very good, and they spoke Russian among themselves.' When all the girls nodded I relaxed."

"She knew you," said Ryan? "How?"

"Book jacket I guess," was Castle's only response. Refilling his glass and taking another drink Castle continued. "Our next job would be to break into Sergei Lukin's mansion, find any incriminating evidence and get it to the police. I don't know what happened inside the house. I was pared with Fiona and our job was to provide suppressive fire if needed. We were using rubber bullets. We had to know down several guards, a couple of them multiple times to allow the boys to escape."

"Apparently they were successful, for the next day I heard that Mr. Lukin had been arrested for trafficking in humans. I guess they uploaded the information to a female Detective that on occasion made their lives miserable, but never overlooks a gift collar, especially one of this magnatude. She's not a fan, but does an occasional favor from time to time."

"Saturday night I went to bed elated, exhausted, and worried."

"Sunday was a great day. When Kate called at 10:00 and told me you guys had caught the bad guys, "lifting his glass in salute, "and that she was ok I was ecstatic. She never mentioned the cast though. At the Book fair Mike and Fiona dropped by inviting me to a victory dinner at their favorite place near one of the marina's and then best part. Each of the girls that we saved came and gave me a hug and a kiss."

"Kate I confess on this trip I kissed six beautiful women. That one," pointing at the picture of him and Glenanne ," meant nothing. The other five were…"

"….special," said Kate reaching for her class. "I don't know Castle, six woman on one trip, do I have send a chaperon with you?"

"You could ask Gina to bunk with me. She would probably love the idea of saving the cost of a hotel room," teased Rick.

"Castle,," sputtered Kate!

"I love you Kate, and if you want to check my alibi," teased Castle, "call Madeline, Mrs. Westen, she's in the book! I don't know about you guys but I could use a break," declared Castle.

When they returned the snacks and drinks had been refreshed and the conversation turned to the upcoming birth, playful banter between Esposito and Lanie, just the type of stuff you would hear among friends. Kate was the last to return.

On her way back from the Ladies Room she called Katrina, another bartender at the Haunt over, "Kat I need to use the downstairs phone. It will be a long distance call to Florida. If the boss yells, tell him to take it up with me."

After getting the number from information Kate hesitated for a long moment, do I really want to know? Castle tells stories for a living, how do I know this isn't one of them. What do you do if the story isn't true? What do you do if it is? Finally she punched the buttons.

"Mrs. Westen I am Kate Beckett. I'm a Homicide Detective with NYPD," began Kate.

"Ah, Rick's girlfriend. He talked a lot about you when he was down here. I feel I already know you. Handsome man. What can I do for you dear?"

"This is a little embarrassing. On Sunday the paper up ran a picture of Rick kissing…."

"….kissing Fiona Glenanne. I know. It ran here too. When Mike saw it he went ballistic. He started tearing into Fiona with how could you etc. and Fiona laid him out."

"Oh, how?"

"She reminded him of the times they had been together, how much they had been through together, how many times she has had his back, how dare he think she could be tempted by a pretty face, and besides it was the only way she could think of to distract the mark. Before Fiona could really get on a role, Michael grabbed her and kissed her. Good thing too. Fiona is Irish to the core. Once her temper takes control it's over."

"Right now grabbing and kissing Castle seems like a good idea."

"Rick's your fiancé? I wish Mike would marry Fiona."

"Why hasn't Mike asked?"

"Some silliness, he thinks by not marrying her he is protecting her. Nonsense everyone knows they are a couple already. Mike just doesn't see that he really is hurting her by not marrying her. It wouldn't surprise me if Fiona gets tired of waiting and moves on. I know she loves Mike, but a girl can only take so much neglect."

"Mrs. Westen."

"Madeline dear."

"Madeline, Ricks real reason for coming to see your son was to see if he knew any stories about his Dad. Castle just meet his Dad for the first time last year, and he is desperate to anything about his father."

"How awful. They got together Sunday night at dinner. Perhaps then."

"Madeline do you know what the kidnappers were going to do with the women?"

"I honestly don't know. When I asked both Sam and Jesse asked for a beer, and Mike and Fiona had to go to the Marina Mall to buy a thingie, code for bad don't ask."

"Thanks Madeline, tell Mike and Fiona that if they ever get to NYC dinner is on us."

"OK, Kate you didn't call to check up on Rick's alibi did you?"

"I'll…."

"I know you're a Detective and are always digging for facts. But with Castle trust your heart. He loves you Kate. I heard it in his voice. Take some advice from an old warhorse. Hold him tight, but not too tight to choke him. Tell him you love him and prove it by doing the little things."

"Thanks Madeline. I'll try. Bye"

When Kate returned to the table she looked around and said, "Thanks guys for being here. It made things easier for us. Castle I won't apologize for going undercover. I am a police officer. It's my duty. You are going to have to accept that. But you are right. I should have told you that I was alright. I caused you to worry. I'm sorry. I'm going to have to work on that. Pointing at the picture, I'm Detective things like that stick with me and make me suspicious. I see these things and process them with my Detectives brain, not my heart. I know I should trust in the quality of the man I'm going to marry. I'm going to have to work on that too. I love you Castle." The look on his face and the kiss was all the forgiveness that Kate needed.

At the Loft, Castle quickly unpacked, joined Kate in the shower and made the classic mistake bad of checking his email. By the time he returned Kate was gentling snoring. How dumb am I thought Castle, my first night back an I wall myself up in the office. Stupid.

**[Chapter 5 – Forever Tuesday]**

[**Loft]**

Castle slept clear through Kate getting ready for work. When he crawled into the kitchen he found the coffee ready to be made and Kate's note. 'Buy Me Lunch?'

Of course. Looking at the clock, it's early yet, maybe their open. "Miss Madison please."

"Yes, this is Rick Castle I was wondering how soon I could get a table this week?"

"How about tonight at 7:00 PM" beamed Mads.

"Great yes, ah Mads are things going ok? I mean …"

"We are doing fine. Thanks for asking. Have you seen todays paper?"

"No, I just got up."

"When you read the front page you will find out why almost no restaurant in town would turn down a chance to seat Kate Beckett at their restaurant…. Rick there is a very close held rumor about a certain NYC gentlemen who help free some young women down in Florida last weekend."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"The one who identified you is my cousin. I'll tell the chief who is coming to dinner and that it needs to be extra extra special. I'm sure she won't disappoint."

"Thanks."

**[The 12****th****]**

When Castle got to the precinct he saw that Kate was on the phone and stopped in to talk to Esposito and Ryan. "Hey, last night you guys never told what happened to the light weights?"

"We didn't find out till this morning," said Ryan.

"They were just a bunch of shopkeepers who were telling the homeless to move on," interjected Esposito. "Yesterday afternoon the Commander sent in a full tactical to deal with the situation."

"Can you imagine a full tactical team to calm down four shopkeepers," laughed Ryan.

"You're going to love this Castle," said Esposito. "Monday morning the Commander went to the Mayor's office and claimed that the success of the operation was due in a large part to the plan that he and his staff created. When the Mayor read it he said 'This looks like something Castle would write.' The Commander was not happy. "

"I guess the Chief of D's was at the meeting. Anyway he called Captain Gates asking about the plan. She said, 'You mean the plan that Detective Beckett wrote on the Murder Board that is still in front of her desk," said Ryan? "I never saw the Captain so happy or so pissed."

"Any fallout from the article in the paper," asked Castle?

"We're supposed to do interviews this afternoon," said Esposito.

"Kate's going to love that," said Castle. "Anyone know who she's talking to?"

"No clue Bro," said Esposito.

"Mr. Castle are your disciples of enlightenment available," asked Captain Gates? " I may have a job for them."

"For you Captain yes. Anyone I know."

"No, thank goodness. And I will try to do my best to see that you two never meet."

"Is he the one who volunteered Kate?" The glint in the Captains eyes was all the answer Castle needed. "You know it's probably best if you have LT sit on me if you know he's coming around."

"I was thinking of handcuffing you and throwing you in the box, you know, pre-emptive protective custody.

"You ready for lunch Castle," said Kate.

"Interviews 2:00PM people."

"Yes Captain," they all chirped.

As they were walking to the comfort food truck, Kate smiled when Castle thanked her for setting up the coffee machine. Madeline may have a point, thought Kate.

Lunch consisted of a hot dog, a cup of coffee, and a bench in the weak November sun to talk. "I called Madeline to check on your alibi Castle," said Kate. Castle's reply caught her off guard.

"I am simultaneously pissed and flattered. I'm pissed that you felt that you had to check, and flattered that you did. I think I'll stay with flattered."

"It was a head and heart think," continued Kate. "This time the Detective in me won." With a smile she continued, "I expect my heart to override soon."

When Castle mentioned dinner at Q3 at 7:00 Kate panicked and gave Castle a list of clothes that he need to have down at the station by no later than 6:00. Castle was going to protest, but then smartly surrendered and memorized the list. After the panic had subsided Kate asked if Michael had any stories about his father.

Castle smiled and shook his head yes. "You can read my notes if you like, but I was going to wait to Alexis was home and share the stories will all of you."

"I family story night, I like it. I can wait. I need to get back for my interview. No later than 6:00 with my clothes."

Castle watched as Kate pulled on the chain that held the heart pendant he had given her before he left on the trip. Positioning the heart so that it was clearly visible, Kate leaned in, give Castle a quick kiss then said, "I want the reporters to know I'm loved," and she literally skipped toward the station house.

When Kate, dressed in the evening clothes that Castle had brought for her, exited the elevator she felt like all eyes in the station house were on her, but the only pair of eyes that mattered were missing. As she approached her desk she turned to see Castle and Captain Gates' come out of the Captains' office. Captain Gates was smiling at Castle and the look on Castle's face when he turned and looked at her warmed her all over.

When Rick saw Kate he was speechless. She is a beautiful woman he thought. When she held out she held out her hands as he approached he quickly captured both and looked into her eyes. A step away, he wanted so much to pull her close and give her the kiss she deserved, but not in the station house. "Evening Captain," Rick said as he positioned one of Kate's hands under his arm and proceeded to walk toward the elevator.

"Captain Gates smiling, what was that all about," asked Kate?

"A peace treaty of sorts," whispered Rick.

At Q3 Mads greeted them like royalty. Leading them to the best table in the house she leaned in close to Kate and whispered, "My cousin was one of those, you know ..Castle." Kate's nod was the only response. Her hostess duties done for the moment, two of NYC's heroes, she thought. Two on NYC's heroes in love , she corrected herself. Later Castle thought, Mads had been right , the Chief had not disappointed.

Later in the Loft, out of eveningwear an into more comfortable clothes, Kate sitting on the couch watching her beloved Yankees and Rick pursuing his periodicals Kate remarked, "Castle I got a date."

"Really, I thought we just went on one."

"No silly, a wedding date."

When Castle reached for her she flowed into his arms, and her beloved Yankees forgotten for the rest of the evening.


End file.
